The Seychelles Archipelago occupies 400,000 sq km (150,000 sq miles) of the Indian Ocean northeast of Madagascar and has 115 islands and islets. These fall into a couple of groups of markedly different appearance, stemming from their distinct geologies.
Granitic
A dense cluster of forty two islands, unique in being the only mid-ocean group in the world with a granite rock formation. Their lush green vegetation is tropical. Indigenous forest exists on higher slopes.
Coralline
Isolated coral outcrops speckling a vast area of the Indian Ocean to the southwest of the group. They rise only a few feet above the sea level but are covered with rich and dense vegetation. Aldabra, the largest atoll in the world, contains one-third of all Seychellois land and is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site.
Mahé
Surrounded by coral reefs, this is the largest of the islands, and houses the main international airport, the port and capital, Victoria.
Praslin
The second-largest island is 2 - 3 hours by boat or 15 minutes by plane from Mahé. Famous for the Vallée de Mai, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which contains the double-nutted coco-de-mer palm. Local specialities include the kat-kat banane, coconut curries and la daube (made from breadfruit, yams, cassavas and bananas.
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